How to help your child learn to love reading

Reading is fundamental when it comes to your child's academic performance, progression and success. In fact, it can have a huge impact on writing and language skills as well as teach morals and help them understand and discover new things. Here at Tutor Doctor we know how important it is that your child reads on a regular basis. However, making sure your kids enjoy reading is sometimes tricky, but can really make all the difference when it comes to their learning and education. Here’s how you can help your child learn to love reading.

Keep books around the house

Having books, magazines and newspapers all around your home will help your kids see them as a normal part of daily life. A great way to really get them involved is for them to have their own bookcase or shelf where they can store all of their own books. Remember, how you handle books will also influence how your kids treat them. If they see you enjoying reading and treating books with care, it is much more likely they will adopt the same behavior.

Let them choose what they want to read

Your kids are always going to read books you don’t like. However, it’s terribly important to let your child read what catches their eye and ignites their imagination, especially as they are still building their relationship with reading. Asking them to read books they find ‘boring’ or ‘uninspiring’ will only make them resist reading and make it feel like a chore. Remember you want them to be excited by books! If after a while they’re still hooked on a book or a genre that bothers you, try guiding them to similar alternatives that are a little more challenging.

Discover libraries

Libraries are a great place to spark a passion for books and can really make all the difference when it comes to enjoying reading. Make sure you visit a few different local libraries with your kids to see which one makes reading exciting and special. Even small details such as how child friendly the library is, how it’s decorated or what the reading area is like can have a huge impact on children. Libraries also create the image of a vast, changing, never-ending supply of books, which can be very exciting for kids as they can really come into their own when deciding which ones to borrow. Even just being able to browse, look and see so many books can make the prospect of reading fun and enjoyable -- far beyond an activity they ‘have’ to do.

Help them find a favourite author

Finally, helping your children discover their favourite authors can really make reading exciting, fun and can even ignite a passion in a specific genre or style of writing. The library is a fantastic place to start as they can scan the shelves for new authors and current favourites. It also means they can borrow books without worrying paying a penalty for not falling in love with the author- they can just choose something different next time. Another way to help your kids find wonderful authors is to research what’s out there- The Newbery and Caldecott book awards always have some great winners. Jot down what sounds intriguing or exciting- it’s that easy!

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